The (re) start of my drag racing career car updates 9/9/14

[Dragfreak]

I've been racing something since I was four. Starting out in an outlaw go kart that I raced from four years old to about 8 years old when I lived in Washington, my family and I then moved to my dad's hometown in Oregon where I still currently live. The rules at our local asphalt and dirt track were a lot different than those in Washington, our carts were making too much power with no restrictor plate so they were illegal. Slowing the carts down just wouldn't be fun to race anymore so my dad looked into other things. We found a guy with an old junior dragster that was looking to get into cart racing. Coincidence? I think so, we traded our four carts, two dirt and two asphalt carts to him straight across for the ready to race junior dragster. I started racing it almost immediately after we got it, my first racing season when I was 9, I took 3rd in the points race missing 2nd by a rounds worth of points. Between the next season we cleaned up the car and built a new engine for it to make some more power, that season I took second place to the 16 year old veteran who had several years more experience than I did. The very next season was a great season for me, I won two junior Wally's and took 1st in the points race beating my much older rival. From that year on I won every championship and brought home four more junior Wally's, a state championship, and a $300 savings bond.

Here's some pictures of the kart racing and the Junior

Now after two years of working all summer long, I'm stepping up to a full size car, after selling the Chevy luv I bought, and selling some parts laying around the shop, I had saved enough to buy exactly the car I've been wanting since I was racing the junior dragster, a '71 vega panel delivery tube chassis drag car. I bought it from a long time racer and friend who saved the car for me until I could buy it from him, not only did he save it for a couple years, he knocked about 5k off the price that it would cost to someone else. I bought it as a roller as the motor and tranny is coming out of my high school car. The seller left all of the electronics, the fuel system, plumbing, you name it, he left it. I still have to buy a new set of slicks for it, a new 5 point harness, and a new shift gate for the shifter (because it had a power glide and I'm putting a turbo hydro in it) and a few other things before it can hit the track

Pictures in the next post

Edited September 10, 2014 by Dragfreak

[Dragfreak]

The car is a true '71 panel, one of 7,800 made. It has a newer 76/77 fiberglass nose on it and rear bumper, the car is a full tube chassis ladder bar car weighing in at only about 2700 lbs ready to race. It has the best of the best, a Mark Williams 9" with 40 spline gun drilled axles, 4.89 gears and driveshaft from Mark Williams. The engine is set back and there is 54% of the weight on the rear wheels meaning with a th350 the thing should pull wheelies easily. It is a solid car even if it looks like it's straight out of the early eighties.

More pictures to come as I get work done on it

Edited July 13, 2014 by Dragfreak

[1930fordpickup]

Looks like fun to me.

[freakshow12]

That is just sweet! What are you going to run with it class wise?

[Dragfreak]

Thank you Andy,

Fred, for these four years of high school I'll run it in the high school class and then depending on what I want to do, I can run pro or super pro with it. I'm not to fancy on the idea of racing dragsters with it so I'll probably end up running in pro

[Cato]

Very cool. Can it run 9's with a small block at 600HP?

[Dale W. Verts]

I'm jealous, as my racin' days are probably behind me. Good luck!

Dale

[cobraman]

Very sharp looking Vega. Good luck and be safe !

[DynoMight]

Very sharp looking Vega. Good luck and be safe !

x2

[LunaticRick]

Very nice drag racer, I hope you do great in all your races!

[twopaws]

Jason, live the dream and someday 40 years in the future you can look back at one of the great periods of your life. That is my experience. Have a ton of fun.

[Dragfreak]

Cato: The smallblock I'm putting in it makes 602, it wasn't built with the best stuff so I'll probably shift at 6,000 rpms to make sure it lives throughout my time racing it in high school, my dad has a nitrous kit for it that I'll probably use a little bit, it's just an Nos bottle with an edelbrock plate for a dominator. The biggest pill I'll give it is maybe 100/125 horse. With that I'd be happy if it ran low 10's because the cam in it isn't really ground for nitrous.

Dale: thank you, I'll need it, even though I have a lot if racing experience under my belt, jumping from a junior dragster to a chassis car is a pretty big thing

Ray/ Glenn: thank you as well I am a bit nervous about getting into such a fast car after a couple years off but I know things will be just fine

[Dragfreak]

Rick: thank you for wishing me luck, I hope to do as well in this car as I did in the dragster

Craig: I appreciate your wisdom, I know that thanks to my dad I have had a phenomenal childhood. One day I hope to do the same to my children, I hope to watch them grow into racing and have as much or more fun than I've had

[Sixx]

Right on Jason! That's awesome man! I'm jealous! Lol ! Sweet ride!

[Cato]

Cato: The smallblock I'm putting in it makes 602, it wasn't built with the best stuff so I'll probably shift at 6,000 rpms to make sure it lives throughout my time racing it in high school, my dad has a nitrous kit for it that I'll probably use a little bit, it's just an Nos bottle with an edelbrock plate for a dominator. The biggest pill I'll give it is maybe 100/125 horse. With that I'd be happy if it ran low 10's because the cam in it isn't really ground for nitrous.

That's a wise idea about short-shifting. If you have a doubtful bottom end even a 100 pill could hurt it. Kick a rod out and your budget for the season hurts big.

[Dragfreak]

That's a wise idea about short-shifting. If you have a doubtful bottom end even a 100 pill could hurt it. Kick a rod out and your budget for the season hurts big.

It's just a steel crank and pink rods, from what I've heard, those pink rods don't like going past 6,000 so when I get some money I'll have to get some good H beams and a forged crank. One day I hope to have the cage certified to run 7.50 and get a power plant to get it there.

Here's the power plant going in it

Edited July 14, 2014 by Dragfreak

[W-409]

That Vega looks very cool! Good luck for your Racing, it's nice to see more young people on the Drag Strips. Do you know how much that Vega weights? I bet it's a lot lighter than our Race Car and that way much more fun to push forward at the pits.

[tubbs]

good luck Jason. you will do well. don't let any of those older guys kick you around at all. if you were not so far away, i'd be right there cheering you on pal.

[Dragfreak]

Niko: the way it sits right now as a roller is about 1,850 pounds with the motor/tranny, fuel, and me in it, I think it will be about 2,700 pounds

Al: I have to say it's because of the older guys who give me a hard time but truly help me in the end. Bob crow who sold it to me is a great man, to save a car for over two years when he has higher offers on it is just crazy. He's not done helping me either, he told me there's more to come so I guess I'll see when I start racing it

[1930fordpickup]

Jason your friend Bob sounds like a great guy and good friend. They are hard to find.

[crazyjim]

Best of luck in racing.

[Dragfreak]

Jason your friend Bob sounds like a great guy and good friend. They are hard to find.

You sure are right, he's a great guy with a big heart

Best of luck in racing.

Thanks Jim, I hope I am successful

[Dragfreak]

I've made some progress on the car. I started the removal of all the stickers on the car, I think I went through a full bottle of wax to clean up the residue left over.

I also cleaned the burnout rubber off of the rear quarter

I then polished the chrome wheelie bars

More to come

Edited July 19, 2014 by Dragfreak

[Dragfreak]

More work done today, on the doors you can see in the previous pictures it said "ol crow racing." The "ol crow" part of it is stickers that were made to match the "racing" which is in paint. I peeled the stickers off and started sanding the blue off. Between sanding and rubbing with compound the drivers door is done so I've moved on to the passenger side.

I also started polishing the wheels, even though I hate the centerline warrior wheels they're starting to look pretty good

While in Las Vegas I met up with Mel who runs the Pacific Street Car Association and bought a member ship and a few shirts from him, with the member ship I got a few stickers and a windshield banner so I'll get it on soon

I decided to stick a small PSCA sticker in the back window

Thoughts? Suggestions? I'd like to know what you got to say

Edited July 20, 2014 by Dragfreak

[freakshow12]

I think you got it right where you want it to be so far! I like a clean car without a bunch of lettering and stuff so keep it up! When does the engine go in? What's it in now?